Mark Schneider

Jan 14, 2025 | aei.org | With Nat Malkus |Derek Scissors |Nicholas Eberstadt |Mark Schneider

On the most recent round of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Chinese students’ mean math and science scores were over 100 points higher than the corresponding averages for countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), implying that Chinese students are two or more years ahead of OECD pupils in these fields. But how accurate are these figures?

Jan 14, 2025 | aei.org | Mark Schneider |Christopher Robinson

“Reskilling” and “upskilling” are common buzzwords in discussions of career and technical training. These terms refer to imparting new skills to workers, enabling them to take on enhanced roles and responsibilities and enabling their employers to better face changing demands for goods and services. Given our dynamic economy, it’s not surprising that interest in improving the skills of workers is increasing. A Google Ngram search (Fig. 1) shows that the use of “reskilling” has skyrocketed. Figure 1.

Nov 19, 2024 | aei.org | Mark Schneider |Christopher Robinson

The results of the 2023 International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) were just released. ICILS is given to a sample of eighth-grade students and is supposed to measure their ability to use information and communications technology. Including the United States, 35 education systems worldwide participated in the study of “computer and information literacy,” while a subset of 24 also participated in the optional computational thinking module.

Nov 12, 2024 | aei.org | Mark Schneider |Christopher Robinson

If you tried to apply for federal student aid this 2024–2025 school year, you would have been met with a glitch-filled online form created using 40-year-old code, released three months behind schedule, and that might have arrived too late for a college to offer you the aid you applied for.

Nov 12, 2024 | aei.org | Mark Schneider

Key PointsThe National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has a congressional mandate to assess American students’ academic performance over time. Unfortunately, the bureaucratic processes to select NAEP’s contractors have been rife with inefficiencies and anticompetitive behavior.